British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered a powerful plea to Russian citizens on Tuesday night — urging them to seek out and share the truth of the “atrocities” committed by their country’s troops in Ukraine.
“The Russian people deserve the truth, you deserve the facts,” Johnson said in a video address that he partly dictated in Russian.
Johnson cited the recently uncovered harrowing scenes in Irpin and Bucha, where hundreds of civilians’ bodies were discovered in a mass grave in what some Western leaders and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky are declaring a genocide.
“Civilians massacred — shot dead with their hands tied. Women raped in front of their young children. Bodies crudely burned, dumped in mass graves, or just left lying in the street,” Johnson said.
“The reports are so shocking, so sickening, it’s no wonder your government is seeking to hide them from you,” the prime minister continued.
“But don’t just take my word for it.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson released a video asking Russian citizens to learn the truth about their country’s invasion of Ukraine. Twitter
Debris seen in a street in Bucha, Ukraine after Russian shelling on April 5, 2022. Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called Russia’s actions in his country a “genocide.” EPA/PETER FOLEYJohnson, in his address, encouraged the Russian people to use a private, untraceable internet server to access to see for themselves the horror unfolding in Ukraine.
“All you need is a VPN connection to access independent information from anywhere in the world,” Johnson said.
“And when you find the truth, share it.”
